Since I’ve started writing about music and getting involved in the interview sphere, there have been a few moments where I’ve stepped back from the situation and really questioned what this all is becoming. When I first saw my name on Blabbermouth.net, a site I’ve read for rock and metal news since I was a teenager, that was the start of it. Getting approved to for free review tickets for bands I love through Live Nation, and getting to see them from in front of the GA gate was another one of those moments. Having musicians I’ve interviewed follow me on Instagram and view my mundane stories on a daily basis – what world am I living in? But my experience at the Lucky 13 Saloon with Esa Holopainen and Santeri Kallio from Amorphis might be the most ridiculous one yet.
For some context, Amorphis is a legendary Finnish extreme metal band that’s been around for thirty-five years. Their early releases, The Karelian Isthmus and Tales from the Thousand Lakes were considered groundbreaking releases in the early 1990s, especially in the realm of Finland, which did not have a vibrant extreme metal scene like their Scandinavian counterparts in Norway and Sweden. Amorphis’ music from this time period was considerably influential on up and coming metal musicians in the country, including a young Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom, who was quoted as saying “[Amorphis] were crucial in showing us and many other budding musicians that Finns can produce top-shelf death metal too.” The group played a large part in creating the incredible scene that exists in Finland today by influencing countless musicians that dominate it today.
My experience with Amorphis started years ago when I was exploring melodic death metal, as one does when they grow tired of the Metallicas and Iron Maidens of the world. When a press opportunity arose to interview someone from the band, I said yes without much of a thought, as I generally like to speak with people whose music I’m at least somewhat familiar. Knowing their stature in the Finnish metal world from my recent deep dive on Children of Bodom made it an even more obvious choice. So, I interviewed lead singer Tomi Joutsen sometime in July in order to promote the band’s fifteenth record, Borderland.
About a month after, I got a message from my editor asking me if I would go to a record release party for the band that was being planned in Brooklyn. I thought that sounded pretty cool and I didn’t have anything else planned for the proposed day, so I said sure. At the very least, maybe I could promote myself a little bit and hand out a few business cards. I emailed the PR contact to let him know I’d like to attend. He responded by letting me know he’d be in touch when the details get finalized.
Eventually, he got back to me about the date and location – September 26th at the Lucky 13 Saloon. Some brief research revealed it was a heavy metal dive bar that was walking distance from Atlantic Terminal. Definitely doable. He then asked me if I’d like to interview the band. I was confused, as I’d already spoken to their lead singer. So I told him I’d already interviewed Tomi Joutsen about a month ago, which he set up. He responded that he meant at the event, to which I sheepishly replied that yes, of course I would interview the band at the bar (even though I had exactly zero pieces of equipment to do so).
This new opportunity set off more than a few questions in my head. First of all, why is one of the biggest bands in Finnish metal coming to a small bar in Brooklyn to celebrate their 15th record being released to the world? And probably more important, how am I going to pull this off, as I’ve only done interviews through Zoom? Either way, I agreed to do it and had about a month to figure it out.
Thanks to some of my more tech-savvy friends, I was able to get the right equipment and even practiced recording using it all. On the day of the event, I arrived to the bar around 6:40pm, looking for anyone that looked remotely familiar. I noticed Esa Holopainen, lead guitarist and a main songwriter from Amorphis, just hanging out outside this dive bar in Brooklyn with a beer sitting at a table with some other people. I walked up to a guy standing next to the door, assuming he was a bouncer, and said, “Hey, I’m here to interview the band.” He promptly told me, “Hey man, I’m not a security guard, I’m just hanging out.” Things were off to a flying start.
Thankfully, I recognized the PR guy I was emailing with and walked up and introduced myself. I thought I had a few minutes to set up and get myself ready, but he brought me right over to Esa and was like, “Alright, you’re up.” So here I am, sitting at a table outside of a bar with one of the more famous Finnish metal musicians of all time, just shooting the shit while I set up all of my gear. While we’re doing so, I ask him what he thinks of the area and mention that Finback Brooklyn is like two blocks away, mostly to make small talk and calm my nerves. He responds that he may go there with Santeri, Amorphis’ keyboardist who was also there, while they play the album at the event because, as he put it, “I don’t want to be here for that.”
I had been given a run time of about fifteen minutes, and we’re starting early, so I think I can stretch it out a bit longer. I establish a good shot on my phone, hook up the microphones, and get right into it. Everything’s running smoother than I could imagine for about five minutes until I realize my phone has stopped recording for some reason. As I’m slowly dying inside, I stop the interview and just say, “Hey man, I’m really sorry but my phone stopped recording – we’re going to have to start over.” For posterity’s sake, here’s those three minutes of interview.
To his credit, Esa could not have been nicer about the situation. He said it was no problem and even helped me troubleshoot the issue – which was a conveniently timed firmware update for the recording application. There are certain moments in time which can feel like they take forever, but I assure you, not many compare to waiting for your phone to update an app while you’re sitting outside a dive bar in Brooklyn with a Finnish guitarist. After struggling to establish the same shot I had previously, Esa and I both said, “Fuck it, it’s good enough.” You can see our quick troubleshooting session below.
Finally, we resumed the interview (take two) and I got about twelve minutes in with him. I did have to cut some questions, as I noticed the PR guy giving me the throat slash signal after he thought I was taking too much of his time. I did explain the situation afterwards, however, in the moment it felt like more of a threat than a kindly time limit reminder. The full interview, as recorded in our second take, is below.
If you want to listen instead, it’s also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
After we finished, we chatted for a few more minutes before Esa was whisked away to do more press. Afterwards, a woman dressed in all black came up to me and asked me how everything was and if I needed anything. Assuming she was a waitress, I told her everything is great, I’m probably going to go get a beer now to decompress. She responded by saying, “No, I’m from the record label, how was the interview?” Stay hot, kid.
I spent the rest of the evening hanging out around the band, the PR people, and the record label representatives that were in attendance. I even got to have a few beers with the Amorphis guys, who were so accessible and down to earth, you’d never believe they were playing a week prior to a crowd of 10,000 people in Istanbul, Turkey. Some particular memories that stand out to me are getting a chance to cheers with the whole group present, taking a picture with the guys, and actually having my face on the Amorphis official Instagram account. At one point, someone brought the guys from the band a round of Guinness, which they were disgusted about it. Esa refused to have it, while Santeri said he was going to pretend he was 15 again and drink it. Another highlight was when two disco balls appeared on the street, which led to an excellent photo opportunity. I may have also slipped the keyboardist a snus at the end of the night – who’s to say?
As I sit here reflecting on this entire experience, I think the conversation I had with the woman from the record label, Reigning Phoenix Music, summarizes it best. When she asked how it went, I told her all about the technical difficulties and that it was my first time doing one of these in person but overall it was great. She responded by saying that was hard to believe because I looked professional with all the equipment and it sounded like it went well.
My response: “Fake it ‘til you make it.”
